The rising number of Hispanic homeowners in Utah also is reflected nationwide. Across the country, owner-occupied housing in 2004 by Hispanics increased to 5.4 million, a 31 percent increase from 4.1 million Hispanic owner-occupied homes in 2000.

While Utah's home prices have typically lagged that of most states, that is no longer the case. For the 12 months ended Sept. 30, Utah home prices climbed at their fastest pace in 10 years, rising an average of 11.37 percent, according to a recent report by the U.S. Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.

Bayardo said if he had waited to buy a home in Herriman today, he would have paid a lot more. Houses in his area, he said, are now selling for more than $200,000.

Shelley Weiss, a trustee for Park City Community Outreach Center, a nonprofit organization that assists people with accessing social services, said Utah's increase in Hispanic homeownership may be the result of more lenders willing to loan to undocumented people.

"We are sitting on such a large undocumented community in the state of Utah," Weiss said. "It's wonderful to see people to get into homeownership, but it's going to be harder and harder. We are pricing anybody who isn't making a pretty good chunk of change out of any possibility for housing."

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